It's honestly a bit strange strange me really. I was in the 4th grade at the time and I was at a friend's house. He had recently gotten Aragorn's Quest for the Nintendo Wii and wanted to play it with me since it had co-op. He had seen the movies a few times beforehand whereas I had never even heard of LOTR, with the closest thing to it I saw at the time was Narnia (barely) and Harry Potter. I really enjoyed the game and got myself a copy of it the next day, played through it and beat it by the next day, then finally watched the movies!
Now, fantasy is tied for my favorite genre with sci-fi and LOTR is my absolute favorite movie franchise of the fantasy genre!
Also funnily enough, my parents owned the whole trilogy of movies and never even told me about them!
Honestly the Shire for me. It reminds me of where I grew up in a way seeing as I grew up in the countryside. The quiet and peaceful environment of it all and the area itself brings a sort of nostalgic feeling. I always get a little emotional when I hear the Shire theme because it simply reminds me of home.
Though ngl Erebor would be pretty cool too. Dwarves are a fun bunch!